Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Opinion
“Difference of opinion leads
to enquiry, and enquiry to
truth ” -Thomas Jefferson
Braseltoons
by John Sheppard
"He's my silent partner."
letters
Seniors need higher exemption for taxes
our views
Depot redux:
Should city run it,
or run away?
THE FRACTIOUS debate over the future of
the historic Hoschton Depot may soon come to
a head. Only one group submitted a bid to man
age the depot for the city by Monday’s dead
line.
That group, the Hoschton Historic Depot Pres
ervation Foundation, is essentially made up of
citizens who opposed efforts by some on the
Hoschton City Council to lease the depot to a
private firm in August.
So now the council is faced with a choice some
of its members didn’t want — the city will either
have to remain as managers of the facility, or
allow a group of citizens to control the facility.
Council members who were behind the Au
gust bid to dump the depot into private business
hands said their effort was driven by the city’s
poor financial condition. The city has renovated
the depot and maintains it at a cost of $6,000-
$8,000 per year. Rental income for the facility,
however, does not completely cover that cost.
But that argument is misleading. For one thing,
dumping the depot won’t have much impact on
Hoschton’s sorry financial condition. Poor plan
ning and budgeting are responsible for the city’s
financial woes; dumping the depot’s expenses
won’t change that.
But more fundamentally, the depot should not
be viewed as a profit-center for the city. It’s an
asset for its historic value and for its use as a
community center for local citizens. That such
an asset only costs the town around $6,000 per
year is a bargain.
The best outcome of this issue would be for
the city’s elected leaders to become committed
to that view and manage the facility as a city
asset.
That may be difficult, however, due to the ac
rimony and distrust that has surrounded the de
bate. Some council members acted in secret to
dump the depot. When questioned about their
efforts, they told the town’s strongest civic orga
nization, the Hoschton Women’s Civic Club, to
vacate the premises.
In short, the debate has become a petty politi
cal battle between egocentric council members
and those who dared question their intentions.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the pro
posal by this preservation foundation to man
age the depot. But there’s also no guarantee
that some council members won’t continue to
harass those who view the depot as a commu
nity center and not a city profit-center.
Ultimately, the solution to this problem isn’t
just a question of who manages the depot; it’s a
question of what kind of elected leadership the
citizens of Hoschton want for their community.
Dear Editor:
I want to follow up on my letter to the editor,
“BOC needs to give tax relief,” published Septem
ber 26.
Hardly any senior citizen that has reached the
age of 75 will argue that paying full property/
school taxes is blatantly unjust and if not unjust,
unfair.
Of course a few, for varied reasons, will always
disagree, fine.
But the law on the Jackson County books that is
aimed at giving seniors a tax exemption starting
at age 62, based on age and income, is totally
inadeguate to help those in need. Cradle to coffin,
taxes are a real life dilemma for seniors of this age
group living in Jackson County, especially those
above 75 years of age.
Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties, our good
neighbors, offer meaningful property/school tax
exemptions to their senior citizens. Why do our
neighbors offer a meaningful property/school tax
relief law to their senior citizens and Jackson
County does not? I cannot answer this guestion,
but the answer does lie within the BOC/BOE and
their agendas for Jackson County.
Helping the most vulnerable of our society,
children and the elderly, is a sign of compassion
and understanding. Protecting these two groups
should always be at the forefront of the agenda of
our elected officials.
It is not a matter of affordability by Jackson
County to put into law a meaningful tax exemption
for its senior citizens, but a matter of doing the
right thing. Not one senior citizen wants to take
away protection and education of our youth, but
ask “only that our end of the life cycle be cared
for in a meaningful way by lowering our property/
school tax burden.”
If you agree with my assessment, that Jackson
County does not have a meaningful property/
school tax exemption for its senior citizens, espe
cially those in advanced age, please let the BOC
and BOE know. Otherwise, they may never take a
look at the feeble law currently on the books.
Sincerely,
Dave Oliver
Hoschton, GA 30548
When Johnny comes marching home
There had been a buzz building for guite some time that Sen. Johnny Isakson
was thinking of leaving Washington behind in 2010, when his term in the Senate
will be up, and come back home to run for governor.
Isakson added fuel to the speculation with an announce
ment from his Senate office last week: Heath Garrett, Isakson’s
loyal chief of staff for more than 12 years, will be leaving the
senator’s office to work with a high-powered political consult
ing firm, the Stevens & Schriefer Group.
Isakson’s carefully worded announcement said that Garrett
will be based in Georgia for the consulting firm that just hired
him and he “will move from the Senate office to become chair
man of Isakson’s campaign, serving as Isakson’s chief political
strategist.”
Notice what the announcement did not say: it does not
specify that Garrett will be working for Isakson’s “reelection
campaign” or for an upcoming “Senate campaign.” It simply
refers to a “campaign,” leaving the door wide open for any
number of interpretations.
The only interpretation that makes sense, at this point in time, is that Isakson is
trying to clear the field for the governor’s race in 2010, when Sonny Perdue will be
stepping down after his constitutional limit of two terms in office.
The U.S. Senate is known as the world’s most exclusive club and it’s the type of
elective office that politicians will spend a lifetime lusting for. Why would Isakson
willingly give up a seat in the country’s highest legislative chamber?
It all comes back to the question of whether you prefer being a small fish in a
big pond, or a big fish in a small pond.
Isakson is low on the seniority ladder in a Senate that went from Republican
control during his first two years there to a 51-49 Democratic advantage after the
2006 election. The political environment is very threatening for the GOP as we
head into next year and the realists inside the Beltway see little if any chance of
Republicans breaking Democratic control of the Senate.
Even GOP strategists are privately conceding that Democrats could grab at
least four Senate seats currently occupied by Republicans next year. Democratic
consultants say that if the breaks fall their way the total of captured seats could
be seven or eight, or even enough to give Democrats a filibuster-proof majority of
60 Senate seats.
Isakson thus faces the very real prospect of being the junior partner in a minor
ity party that may not even be able to stop legislation through the filibuster after
2008. That can’t be much fun for someone who’ll be celebrating his 65th birthday
in 2009.
It would be much more fulfilling to run for an office where you could really
accomplish things and where you would be the heavy favorite to win before the
candidates even qualify.
The question for any ambitious Georgia politician to be asking is not whether
Isakson will run for governor, but how the Isakson campaign would affect the plans
of everyone else.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson have spent the
last year positioning themselves for the 2010 governor’s race. Do they continue
along that road? Or does Cagle pull a Zell Miller and serve another term or two
as lieutenant governor? Does Richardson switch his focus to Isakson’s vacated
Senate seat?
State Rep. DuBose Porter (D-Dublin), the House minority leader, is one of the
few Democrats left who can mount a credible statewide campaign and he was
seen as a possible candidate for the 2010 governor’s race. But with the rumors
building that Isakson would come home to run, there have also been reports that
Porter will now stay out of the governor’s race. Does Porter also switch to a race
for the Senate, or does he go home to run his string of weekly newspapers?
There has also been speculation that Roy Barnes might want to make another
try for governor in 2010 and eradicate the bad memories of blowing the 2002 race
to Sonny Perdue. Would Barnes really run against his Cobb County neighbor and
old friend Johnny?
Let’s not forget about Sonny Perdue, either. It doesn’t look like his campaign to
run for vice president is going anywhere and he’ll need something to do when his
second term expires - such as run for Isakson’s Senate seat.
Obviously, there are lots of questions to be answered. Fortunately for the voters,
we’ve got at least two years to start working out some of the answers.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report, an Internet news
site at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia.
Healthcare
dilemma for
working families
Dear Mr. Bush:
As a parent, I’m writing you to voice
my opposition to your veto last week
of the State Children’s Health Insur
ance Program (SCHIP).
I don’t understand, Mr. President,
how you expect many working
families to pro
vide healthcare
for their children.
Yes, SCHIP was
designed to help
many “poor” fami
lies with health
care coverage,
but the state of
health insurance
in this country
has jeopardized
children who are
not considered
“poor,” or “rich,” by
the government’s
standards.
Healthcare coverage in this country
is tied to one’s employment status
— those who work full-time may
receive healthcare benefits through
their employer.
But health insurance is often
considered a “benefit” for many
employees — a “benefit” that is being
greatly reduced by employers. Some
employers are resorting to hiring
more “consultants” or “contractors” to
avoid paying rising health insurance
to full-time employees.
While employees are paying higher
healthcare premiums, their benefits
are being slowly eroded; meanwhile,
employers are either absorbing more
costs for higher insurance or buying
cheaper plans.
It’s no wonder, Mr. President, that
many families are dropping health
insurance — it simply costs too much
amid reduced coverage.
Most families don’t require exten
sive medical care, just routine visits
to the doctor and lab work. But for
families without health insurance,
those costs add up quickly.
Mr. President, you vetoed the
SCHIP bill because you said it’s a
step towards national healthcare cov
erage. I don’t understand why politi
cians in this country claim “social
ized” medicine is something to fear.
If politicians fear “socialism” in this
country (or at least the costs), then
close government-operated schools.
Tell us to stop driving on govern
ment-paved roads. Turn off the water
coming from our government-pro
vided water systems. Like it or not,
the United States already has some
elements of socialism.
And while I don’t have a solution
for the complex issue of healthcare
in this country, I’m offended that
you seem to believe that working
families will have an easy solution,
Mr. President. Even with a low-pay
ing job, many parents in this country
work simply to keep health insurance
coverage.
Mr. President, I urge you to begin
a national dialogue about healthcare
coverage in this country — one that
will involve Republicans and Demo
crats. I may not know whom I will cast
my vote for the White House in 2008,
but the Democrats are at least talking
about the issue — and I’m listening.
Kerri Testement is the news editor
for The Braselton News. Her e-mail
address is kerri@mainstreetnews.
com.
Keri Teste
ment
kerri@mainstreet-
news.com
The Braselton
News
A Publication of
Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.
Mike Buffington ..Editor & Co-Publisher
mike@mainstreetnews. com
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher &
Advertising Manager
scott@mainstreenews.com
Angela Gary Managing Editor
angie@mainstreetnews. com
Kerri Testement News Editor
kerri@mainstreetnews. com
Web Site: braseltonnews.com
Classified Advertising
classifieds @ mainstreetnews.com
PO Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
General Phone: 706-367-5233
